Generally speaking, the present invention relates to a double acting switch which comprises a housing; first and second switches each comprising a fixed contact blade and a movable contact blade and electrical contacts at distal ends of the fixed and movable contact blades and mating each other, a cam follower extending from the movable contact blade, the first switch extending into the housing from an end thereof, the second switch extending into the housing from an opposite end thereof; an axially spring biased plunger slideably carried in the housing to be axially movable between the first and second switches; cam means carried by the plunger and selectively engaging the cam follower of the first and second switches, the cam means including coded indicia programmed to open one of the first and second switches while closing the other; and individual electrical terminals extending from outside and into the housing and electrically connected to the fixed and movable contact blades of each of the first and second switches.
The double acting switch of the present invention is particularly useful in automobiles to energize tail lights when a brake pedal is depressed and to simultaneously provide a feed circuit to a cruise control system to break the circuit and de-energize the system. Such double acting switches are well known in the art. However, for the most part, prior art double acting switches were complicated and costly to manufacture.